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Daily news and top headlines for broadband communications engineering and design professionals

Pirate Bay is one of the world's biggest free file-sharing websites offers millions of users a forum for downloading music, movies and computer games. The entertainment industry has failed to shut it down, even after its operators were convicted of copyright violations.

It’s easy to say we need more kids interested in STEM, the challenge comes in finding ways to accomplish it. In this video presentation, engineers discuss what inspired their own engineering journey, what we all can do to further expose kids to the wonders of engineering, and the challenges posed by STEM education.

The ACA Summit underscores the unique role that more than 800 independent cable operators play in providing best-in-class communications services to millions of consumers living and working in some of the most remote areas of the country. When it comes to responding to the critical broadband infrastructure needs of rural America, ACA Members are the ones who are putting their own capital at risk and supplying the solutions.

The FCC restarted the clocks on both of the megamergers it is evaluating. Assuming no more stoppages, the Commission would have a decision in early March on whether or not to allow Comcast and Charter Communications to divvy up Time Warner Cable, and in late March on AT&T’s acquisition of DirecTV.

Several opponents of Comcast’s proposal to buy TWC, including some smaller cable operators, have banded together, calling themselves the Stop Mega Comcast Coalition. There are no conditions the regulatory agencies involved can set on the merger that will avoid the substantial harms they say will be caused by the merger.

In this issue, we profile Sherita Ceaser, the recipient of the 2014 Women In Technology Award. CED editors attended the 2014 Cable-Tec Expo, caught up on keynotes, sampled the seminars, and sat through the sessions to bring you a comprehensive overview of the technologies that are driving progress in the cable industry. Contributed articles address managing networks – one looks at smart home networks, the other at the cloud.

“Uncertainty” doesn’t really mean anything, and uncertainty doesn’t derive from reclassification, it derives from the industry’s reaction to it: lawsuits. Show us exactly how reclassification would cost more – not including the litigation costs – or admit it’s all just whining. Put up or shut up.

A report by the Nebraska Information Technology Commission calls for on the state to use the state's universal service fund to create new infrastructure, and to partner with libraries and colleges to help teach Internet skills to those who aren't frequent users. Money from the fund comes from a state fee tacked onto consumers' telephone bills.

In Washington, D.C., a set of programmers are holding up two major corporate takeovers because they don’t want a few extra lawyers to become privy to the trade secrets in their retrans consent contracts. Meanwhile, in Washington State, a Court of Appeals just ruled there no grounds for claiming that the terms of retrans agreements are trade secrets.

Only about 6 in 10 Internet users understand the basic concepts of "net neutrality." The results underscore what many say is a growing problem for the U.S.: a generation reliant on the convenience that technology brings, but with little understanding of the risks of conducting nearly every transaction digitally.

This version of the bill eliminates the integration ban, and also includes provisions that ban broadcasters from banding together to negotiate retransmission consent deals with MVPDs. The bill heads to the Senate, where passage is expected to be automatic. The President is expected to sign the bill.

The FCC set aside $100 million for the project. More than 180 entities proposed 600 projects worth $885 million suggesting even before the experiment is conducted there is widespread demand for far more than the minimum level of broadband service many think is adequate for rural markets.

The city issued an RFP for the project, called LinkNYC, earlier this year, and today awarded the contract for the work to CityBridge, a team of companies comprised of Qualcomm, Titan, Control Group, and Comark. Titan is an ad company that currently operates most of the city’s pay phones.

The U.S. should spend $1.5 billion more a year to make sure every child has access to high-speed Internet connections at school, the head of the Federal Communications Commission said in a proposal that would increase slightly the fees consumers pay each month on their phone bills.

The U.S. Court of appeals ruled that programmers do not have to share details of their transmission contracts with a set of MVPDs because some of the MVPDs want to hire outside legal counsel to review the documents. The ACA challenged the decision as unjustified.

Super cookies provide a lucrative data-mining opportunity for advertisers. AT&T is giving up the practice because it made it nearly impossible to shield its subscribers' identities online. Verizon Wireless said it is still using this type of tracking.

Cellcom, Bluegrass Cellular and three other regional wireless providers are warning the FCC of the potential havoc Title II reclassification could wreak in the smaller markets they serve. The response from rural and regional carriers is similar to what larger carriers and wireless industry groups have said after President Obama earlier this week urged the FCC to reclassify ISPs as common carriers.

Infographic: It is a misconception that the discussion about network neutrality is solely about principles such as preventing ISPs from blocking traffic or favoring traffic from any source. It's also very much about broadband competition, or more to the point, the lack of it.

Comcast CEO Brian Roberts is moving "full steam ahead" with the company's proposed $45 billion acquisition of Time Warner Cable despite the uncertainty raised by President Barack Obama's call for tougher regulations on high-speed Internet service providers. Roberts said Comcast Corp. still intends to spend about $20 billion during the next two years to improve its Internet service and other products.

If the FCC were to attempt to reclassify broadband as a communications service under Title II, the industry will immediately sue to block the move, AT&T Randall Stephenson vowed. Furthermore, communications companies will stop investing in their networks.

AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson said his company couldn't afford to continue its fiber buildout until regualtory uncertainties were resolved. Stephenson's comments come just days after President Obama's strongest statement yet on the Net Neutrality debate. Obama urged the FCC to categorize ISPs under Title II, which would essentially make the Internet a public utility.

Let's say President Barack Obama gets his way and high-speed Internet service providers are governed by the same U.S. regulations imposed on telephone companies 80 years ago. Depending on whom you listen to, the rules could unleash future innovation and create jobs — or stifle innovation and kill jobs. The divisive and often confusing debate has intensified now that Obama has entered the fray.

If the FCC were to approve the White House's recommendations, the Internet would be regulated like other utilities such as electricity, water and telephone services. The White House is calling for an "explicit ban" on deals between broadband Internet providers and online services like Netflix, Amazon or YouTube.

President Barack Obama today said he would like to see broadband reclassified under Title II, as a means of ensuring the Internet remains free and open. NCTA president Michael Powell responded, “We are stunned the President would abandon the longstanding, bipartisan policy of lightly regulating the Internet"

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler may drop attempts at Title II reclassification, but in exchange will approve the Comcast / Time Warner Cable and AT&T / DirecTV mergers only with conditions that will bar them from engaging in paid prioritization. It's a win for MVPDs, but will they accept it?